Rigid foam visor

ABSTRACT

A sun visor or other accessory for a motor vehicle. The sun visor includes a body made of rigid foam in which various structures (such as a support pin, detent and pivot arm) are insert molded. The foam has a rigidity which is sufficient to support said sun visor without requiring any additional reinforcing structures such as a support frame, support wire or centerboard. The pivot arm and detent are provided within a casing that prevents the foam from affecting the operation of the detent. Also insert molded into the body of the visor are mounts for an illuminated vanity. Terminals from a power supply are mounted in predetermined positions relative to the body so that when the vanity is mounted to the body, contacts coupled to a lamp and mounted to the vanity in predetermined positions, are caused engage the terminals.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/557,411, filed Nov. 13, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,547 which is adivisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/191,267, filed Feb. 3,1994, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present Invention generally relates to sun visor assemblies formotor vehicles. More particularly, this invention relates to a sun visorin which the body of the sun visor is formed from a rigid foam material.

Conventionally, motor vehicle sun visors employ one of a number of typesof constructions. One construction uses a centerboard of polymericmaterial or cardboard. The centerboard is attached to a pivot rod thatallows the sun visor to pivot about a vertical axis and rotate about ahorizontal axis. A detent mechanism is typically used to maintain thesun visor in its stored or deployed positions. The centerboard alsooperates as the attachment for various other components or subassembliesof the sun visor, such as an illuminated vanity, and may also have slabsof foam mounted to it to cushion the sun visor.

Another common construction for sun visors uses what is known as a clamshell design. In this construction, the body or core of the sun visor isformed from the mating of two halves which are connected along one edgeby a live hinge. When folded together, these halves (which are usuallyof a polymeric material) snap together to form the visor body. Each halfof the clam shell may be provided with reinforcing ribs or otherstructures that enable it handle the rigors of normal visor use. Theclam shell halves are also provided with various clips, embossments orother means that accommodate and locate the other elements of the visorassembly such as support pins, pivot rods, detent mechanisms, vanityassemblies and lead wires for operating an illumination system of thevanity. Generally, these additional components are either clipped to oneof the clam shell halves, clamped between the two clam shell halves orattached by fasteners. As with the previous prior construction, the clamshell body may also be enclosed within a trim cover.

In another variety of sun visor construction, a reinforcing framemember, typically a wire, is provided to support the remainder of thevisor body which may be formed of a foam or other type of material. Twotypes of reinforcements are generally seen. One is a perimeter wirewhich extends, as the name implies, around the perimeter of the visorbody and the other is a bar which extends along the upper edge of thevisor body, from the end of the pivot rod generally to and often throughthe support pin and the other end of the visor.

All of these prior construction techniques present difficulties sincethey are generally labor intensive, involve numerous manufacturingsteps, use a large number of components, require a large on-handinventory supply, and which result in complicated assembly procedures.

In view of the limitations of the above designs, the present inventionhas as one of its objects simplifying the construction of sun visors. Toachieve this object, the present invention provides a sun visor having arigid foam body or core. In the present invention, the core issufficiently rigid to support the entire visor assembly withoutrequiring any additional reinforcing members or structures in the visorbody itself. The foam forming the body is also soft enough to complywith all National Highway Transportation Safety Administration safetystandards for head impacts.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sun visor in which thefeatures necessary for mounting the sun visor to the vehicle,maintaining it in the desired position and attaching a vanity assemblyare insert molded within the visor body.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a casing inwhich the pivot rod and detent mechanism are positioned therebyincreasing the ease with which the subassembly is handled prior toincorporation into the sun visor. It is also an object to protect thedetent mechanism, pivot rod and lead wires from contamination orinterference by the foam forming the body entering into the actualmechanisms and inhibiting their proper operation.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a sun visor inwhich it is no longer necessary to manually connect the contacts of theillumination system of the vanity assembly to the terminals of the powersupply in the visor body. The present invention provides what arereferred to as "battery-type" connections which achieve this object. Asa result, during mounting of the vanity assembly to the visor body, thecontacts of the illumination system are caused to engage terminals ofthe power supply.

In achieving the above objects, the sun visor assembly of the presentinvention is one which, when installed in the vehicle, can be movedbetween a stored position, a deployed position and numerous intermediatepositions. In the stored position, the body of the visor lays generallyagainst the headliner of the vehicle. In the deployed position, the bodyof the visor extends downward and away from the headliner.

The visor includes a visor body or core which is constructed from arigid foam material. While a variety of foams can be used, the foamutilized with the present invention has a rigidity which is sufficientto support the sun visor without requiring any additional reinforcingstructures such as the perimeter and other support wires as seen inprior sun visors. The foam material, preferably a urethane foam, islightweight and meets all U.S. automotive safety standards for headimpacts. The body of the visor is further enclosed within a trim covermade of a material such as vinyl or a textile.

In forming the visor body, the pivot arm and detent mechanism used tomaintain the sun visor in its various positions, are insert molded withthe visor body. To prevent the rigid foam from interfering with theoperation of the pivot arm and detent mechanism, these structures areenclosed within a casing that not only prevents the foam from enteringinto and interfering with their operation, but also allows for easy and"clean" handling of the pivot arm and detent mechanism subassembly by anoperator. In other words, the grease or other lubricant associated withthe detent mechanism is enclosed by the casing. A support pin is alsoinsert molded into the visor and is therefore retained in its positionby the visor body itself.

Also insert molded into the visor body are the various mountingstructures used to enable attachment of a vanity to the sun visor. Thesestructures may take numerous forms. in one form, a recess opening in amounting plate is used in conjunction with mounting bosses that areadapted to receive threaded fasteners.

The molded visor body or mounting plate also includes a recess or othermeans to which electrical terminals coupled to the power supply of thevehicle are received. The lead wires for the terminals are retained inthe casing mentioned above until after molding. During molding, thatportion of the casing which encloses the lead wires is pressed againstone of the mold surfaces so that, after molding, a portion of the casingis exposed yet entrapped by the visor body. The casing is then slitopen, the lead wires withdrawn and engaged with the terminals.

When the vanity subassembly is mounted to the visor body, it attaches atpredetermined locations. On the back side of the vanity, electricalcontacts for the illumination system are also positioned inpredetermined locations so that when properly mounted to the visor body,the contacts on the vanity assembly are caused to electrically engagethe terminals mounted to the visor body. Since both the terminals andthe contacts are in predetermined positions, it is the mounting of thevanity assembly itself which causes engagement. Manual engagementbetween the two terminals is therefore rendered unnecessary.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art to which this inventionpertains from a consideration of the following description of thepreferred embodiment and the appended claims when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the lead wires, detent mechanism andpivot rod enclosed within a casing according to one aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an entire sun visor according to theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially taken along line 3--3 inFIG. 2 of a sun visor, positioned within a mold, and being constructedaccording to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is another sectional view, now taken substantially along line4--4 in FIG. 2, of a sun visor embodying the principles of the presentinvention immediately after molding and while still contained with themold;

FIG. 5 is yet another sectional view, now taken substantially along line5--5 in FIG. 2, of a sun visor embodying the principles of the presentinvention immediately after molding and while still contained with themold; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 6--6 in FIG. 2of a sun visor embodying the principles of the present invention andshowing various elements contained within the visor body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Referring now to the figures, a sun visor assembly embodying theprinciples of the present invention is generally illustrated in FIG. 2and designated as 10. The visor assembly 10 includes a body or core 12which forms the panel that is used to shield the vehicle operator's eyesfrom the sun's glare or from a reflective surface. The visor body 12 iscarried by a pivot/detent subassembly which allows the body 12 of thesun visor 10 to pivot about a vertical axis, thus enabling the sun visor10 to be used with either the front windshield or side window of thevehicle, and rotated about a horizontal axis, thus allowing the sunvisor 10 to be moved between a stored position where the body 12 isgenerally adjacent to the headliner of the vehicle and a deployedposition where the body 12 of the sun visor 10 extends downward from thevehicle headliner. While only briefly outlined here, the pivot/detentsubassembly 14 is more fully described below. The sun visor 10 furtherincludes a vanity subassembly 16 which is also more fully describedbelow.

The visor body 12 is formed from a rigid foam material. This foam is atype that is sufficiently rigid so as to satisfy all of the structuralrequirements of the visor body 12. In this manner, the need foradditional reinforcing members, such as the perimeter support wires oredge supports seen in previous visors, is eliminated. As seen in thedrawings, the various other components of the present invention whichare provided within the visor body 12 are not provided to reinforce oradd structural integrity to the body 12. In addition to beingsubstantially rigid as described above, the foam forming the visor body12 also meets all present U.S. automotive safety requirements for headimpacts.

Any type of open or closed-cell foam that has sufficient rigidity,structural integrity, post-molding characteristics, durability, adhesionto trim cover materials (e.g., vinyl, cloth, etc.), surface aesthetics,fire resistance, thermal stability, and the like may be employed in thearticles of the present invention. Urethane foams suitable forautomotive interior trim substrates are preferred, with rigid (orsemi-rigid) low density urethane foams being highly preferred.

Urethane foams suitable for the present invention are those typicallymade from a two component system suitable for open pour molding. Onecomponent is typically a polyol, preferably polyether or polyesterpolyol; the other an isocyanate, preferably a methylene diphenyldilsocyanate (MDI), polymeric dilsocyanate (PMDI) or tolylenedilsocyanate (TDI).

In a highly preferred embodiment, the automobile accessories of thepresent invention are constructed employing a commercially available twocomponent system such as a RlMline™ SL 87090/Rubinute™ 8700 low densityCFR-free S-RIM system available from ICI Americas, Inc. (RIMline™ andRubinute™ are registered trademarks of ICI Americas, Inc.).

In constructing the sun visor 10 of the present invention, thecomponents other than the vanity subassembly 16 are insert molded orfoamed-in-place during formation of the body 12. The componentstherefore must be located within the mold halves 18 and 20 prior toformation of the visor body 12. The cavity formed between the moldhalves 18 and 20 defines the shape of the visor body 12 and, along anupper edge 22 of the sun visor 10, a recess or indentation 24 is causedto be formed in the visor body 12. A support pin 26, clamped between themold halves 18 and 20 at the portion which defines the recess 24, ispositioned so that the opposing ends 28 of the support pin 26 arelocated within the mold cavity. When provided in this manner, uponcompletion of the foaming operation and forming of the visor body 12,the support pin 26 will traverse the recess 24 while being securelycontained in the visor body 12 by the encapsulation of its ends 28 inthe foam. While this is just one means by which the support pin 24 canbe located and secured within the visor body 12, one skilled in the artwill appreciate that numerous other methods for locating the support pin26 could alternatively be used.

Similar to the support pin 26, a portion of the pivot/detent subassembly14 is also insert molded within the visor body 12. Referring now toFIGS. 1 and 2, the pivot/detent subassembly 14 includes a pivot orsupport rod 30 onto which a detent mechanism 32 is mounted or secured.The support rod 30 includes a horizontal segment 34 coupled through anelbow 36 to a vertical segment 38. A mounting bracket 39 is attached tothe vertical segment 38 and enables the sun visor assembly 10 to bemounted via fasteners (not shown) to the headliner (not shown) of thevehicle. The elbow 36 operates as a bearing to permit relative movementof the horizontal and vertical segments 34 and 38. Also, the support rod30 is hollow and lead wires 40, for the vanity subassembly 16, areextended therethrough.

Mounted to the horizontal segment 34, the detent mechanism 32 includes asubstantially cylindrical barrel portion 42, located about thehorizontal segment 34, and from which extends a planar tab 44. Thedetent mechanism 32 operates to secure the visor body 12 in its storedposition, its deployed position or any desired intermediate positiontherebetween. Obviously, the tab 44 is provided so that the visor body12 will be incapable of rotating relative to the detent mechanism 32thus enabling the detent mechanism to retain the sun visor 10 in thedesired position. The specific structure of the detent mechanism 32 isnot further described in detail since any one of the numerous well knowndesigns could be used with the present invention.

A lubricant, such as grease, is provided within the barrel 42 of thedetent mechanism to reduce friction and increase the ease of rotationrelative to the horizontal segment 34 of the support rod 30. Thisgrease, however, presents a problem when it comes to handling of thepivot/detent subassembly 14 prior to molding of the visor body 12. Toincrease the ease with which the pivot/detent subassembly 14 is handledand to prevent the operator from contacting the grease of thesubassembly 14 or from the grease coming into contact with other visorparts, a casing 46 is provided over a portion of the pivot/detentsubassembly 14.

The casing 46 is made of a clear plastic which is heat sealed ordiaelectrically welded along its edges generally in a shape conformingto the enclosed portion of the pivot/detent subassembly 14. Inparticular, the casing 46 encloses those portions of the pivot/detentsubassembly 14 which are to be encapsulated by the foam forming thevisor body 12. This generally includes the ends of the lead wires 40,the horizontal segment 38, a portion of the elbow 36 and the detentmechanism 32. From the above, it can be seen that, in addition tocontaining the lubricant, the casing 46 also prevents the foam fromentering into the various crevices and recesses of the pivot/detentsubassembly 14, particularly the detent mechanism 32, thereby ensuringthat the foam will not interfere with proper operation of the detentmechanism 32 or rotating of the horizontal segment 34 relative to theremainder of the support rod 30.

Preferably, the casing is a clear plastic material which is compliantenough to allow the foam to substantially conform to the exterior shapeof the pivotdetent subassembly 14. This allows for the visor body 12 tobe securely retained on the pivot/detent subassembly 14 withoutexhibiting a looseness or "wobbling" characteristic. By utilizing clearplastic for the casing 46, it is possible for the pivot/detentsubassembly 14 to be visually inspected prior to molding of the visorbody 12, thereby further ensuring quality control over the sun visorassembly 10.

Also insert molded in the visor body 12 are a pair of vanity mountingplates 48 and 50. To locate the mounting plates 48 and 50 duringmolding, the mold half 18 is provided with tabs, bosses or otherstructures 52 which will effectively locate and retain the mountingplates 48 and 50. As seen in FIG. 5, bosses 52 are being used to securethe mounting plate 48 to the mold half 18 in what will be a inset area53 of the visor body 12. The inset area 53 enables the mounting of thevanity subassembly 16 so that it is generally flush with the remainderof the sun visor assembly 10. The bosses 52 also function to definerecesses beneath openings 54 formed in the mounting plate 48. Theseopenings 54 and recesses are configured to receive mounting tabs 56formed on the rear side of the vanity subassembly 16.

To fully mount the vanity subassembly 16 to the visor body 12, theremaining end of the vanity subassembly 16 is secured by threadedfasteners (not shown) extended through apertures 58, defined in thevanity subassembly 16, and into mounting lugs 60 of the mounting plate50 or through openings defined in the mounting plate and into the foamforming the visor body 12.

The vanity subassembly 16 is generally comprised of a frame 62 to whicha mirror 64 is secured and a cover 66 is rotatably secured. Positionedto one side of the mirror 64 is the illumination assembly of the vanity16 which includes a lamp 68 and a translucent cover 70. The lamp 68 issupported in the vanity subassembly 16 by a pair of metal supports 72that are electrically coupled to or integrally formed with electricalcontacts 74. In the present invention, the contacts 74 extend from therear of the vanity subassembly 16 to form projections on the rear sidethereof. The contacts 74 are provided in a predetermined location sothat when the vanity subassembly 16 is mounted to the visor body 12, thecontacts 74 will be necessarily engaged with terminals 76 alreadymounted to the visor body 12 in a corresponding predetermined location.As seen in FIG. 2, the terminals 76 are mounted to the visor body 12 bybeing press-fit or otherwise engaged through apertures in the mountingplate 50. This mounting, utilizing the predetermined locations of thecontacts 74 and the terminals 76, is a "battery-type" connection thatprovides for coupling of the illumination assembly and lamp 68 to thepower supply of the vehicle.

As mentioned above, the lead wires from the vehicle's power supply areinclusive in the casing 46. During molding, the portion of the casing 46which encloses the lead wires 40 is located so that during molding, thecasing 46 and lead wires 40 are pressed against the surface of the moldhalf 18 which defines the inset area 53 of the visor body 12. Toaccomplish this, the casing 46 and lead wires 40 may be actuallyattached to the mold half 48 or may be merely positioned so that duringfoaming of the visor body 12, the casing 46 and lead wires are caused tobe pressed against the mold half 48 by the molding forces. When removedfrom the mold halves 18 and 20, it can be seen that, In FIG. 2, that thecasing 46 and lead wires 46 are visible and accessible, yet retained inthe visor body 12. The casing 46 can then be slit open or otherwise cutand the lead wires 40 pulled therefrom and provided with means forconnecting them to the terminals 76.

This coupling of the lead wires 40 with the terminals 76 can be througha variety of means including directly soldering the lead wires 40 to theterminals 76 or providing the lead wires 40 with spade terminals 78 thatengage blade terminals 80 extending from the body of the terminals 76.As seen from the above discussion, the casing 46 also operates to allowthe lead wires 40 to be insert molded, within the body of the visor 12while enabling their further manipulation and attachment to terminals 76associated with the vanity subassembly 16 and its illuminationmechanism.

Once the visor body 12 has been molded the various componentsencapsulated therein, a trim cover 82 made of a textile, vinyl or othermaterial is fitted over the visor body 12. This may necessitate theseaming of the trim cover along an edge thereof such as the upper edge22 of the sun visor assembly 10. An opening 84 is provided in the trimcover 82 in the area of the inset portion 53 of the visor body 12. Theopening 84 not only allows for access to the mounting plates 48 and 50and attachment of the vanity subassembly 16, but also ensures thatduring the mounting of the subassembly 16, the trim cover 82 does notgather and wrinkle resulting in an unacceptable product.

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description and theappended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sun visor for a motor vehicle, said sun visorbeing movable between a stored position and a deployed position, saidsun visor comprising:a body generally forming a panel; a pivot armhaving first and second ends, said first end adapted to mount said sunvisor to the vehicle and said second end being at least partially withinsaid body; detent means for maintaining said sun visor in the storedposition, the deployed position, and intermediate position between saidstored and deployed positions, said detent means being at leastpartially within said body and engaging said pivot arm; an illuminatedvanity assembly including a frame supporting a mirror and illuminationmeans for illuminating said mirror, said illumination means including alamp coupled to a pair of electrical contacts, said contacts supportedon said frame in predetermined positions; vanity mounting means formounting said illuminated vanity assembly to said body and said sunvisor, and power supply means for supplying electrical power to saidilluminated vanity assembly, said power supply means including a pair ofelectrical terminals supported by said body in predetermined positionsthereon, said predetermined position of said terminals being such thatsaid contacts on said vanity assembly engage said terminals duringmounting of said vanity assembly to said body.
 2. A sun visor or otheraccessory as set forth in claim 1 wherein said contacts and saidterminals engage one another in a male and female engagement.
 3. A sunvisor as set forth in claim 2 wherein said terminals are femaleterminals.
 4. A sun visor as set forth in claim 2 wherein said contactsare male contacts.
 5. A sun visor as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidterminals are received within recesses defined in said body.
 6. A sunvisor as set forth in claim 5 wherein said terminals have openingsdefined therein to receive said contacts.
 7. A sun visor as set forth inclaim 6 wherein said contacts are in the form of projections on saidvanity assembly.
 8. A sun visor as set forth in claim 5 wherein saidterminals are press-fit mounted in said recesses.
 9. A sun visor as setforth in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes at least onemounting plate in said body to which said vanity assembly mounts.
 10. Asun visor as set forth in claim 9 wherein said mounting plate hasapertures defined therein for receiving corresponding portions from saidvanity assembly.
 11. A sun visor as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidmounting means includes two mounting plates in said body to which saidvanity assembly is mounted.
 12. A sun visor as set forth in claim 1wherein said body is formed of rigid foam.
 13. A sun visor as set forthin claim 1 wherein said power supply means includes a pair of lead wirescoupled to said terminals.
 14. A sun visor as set forth in claim 13wherein said lead wires are connected to spade terminals, said spadeterminals being connected to blade portions of said terminals.
 15. A sunvisor as set forth in claim 13 wherein said lead wires are molded inplace with said body and said body is formed of rigid foam.
 16. A sunvisor as set forth in claim 15 wherein both of said lead wires are atleast partially located within a common plastic casing and said casingis molded in place in said body.
 17. A sun visor as set forth in claim 1wherein said body is covered by a cover.
 18. A sun visor as set forth inclaim 1 wherein said body includes a recessed portion therein and saidterminals are located in said recessed portion.